Every season, I speak to hunters from across the state, each of whom expresses their own degree of success during the recent deer season. Some are happy to say they filled their tags or bagged a personal best buck.

Others complain that it was the worst season ever. Blame, or credit, is often directed towards Saturday opening day, Sunday hunting, or changes in other management programs. But oftentimes the blame lies closer to home.

The reason your hunt was not as successful as you had hoped may fall squarely on your shoulders.

Same thing, same place

One of the statements I hear most often, especially from those experiencing a less successful season than desired, is “I’ve hunted the same property for XX years and have never seen so few deer.” This tells me one thing: they have been doing the same thing at the same place season after season and expect the same results.

No property, stand, or blind is suitable every day or in all conditions you will encounter during the season. Hunting the same place or in the same style every time you go out makes it statistically impossible to be successful during every hunt.

Conditions, travel patterns, and pressure are just a few of the issues that change regularly. You need to change your tactics to remain successful.

Ignoring sign

How many times have you walked to your favorite stand and passed a fresh sign on the way? Each time this has happened, you passed up the potential to fill a tag. Unless you have extensive scouting and fresh information to indicate the deer leaving that sign will continue to your hunting location, passing fresh sign is never a good idea. Fresh sign is the best indicator of where deer have been in the short term and where they are likely to return.

Failing to scout

Too many hunters, especially those who hunt the same property season after season, never do any preseason scouting. Again, many things can change over the course of a year, so it is essential to verify current information rather than relying on what has always been the case.

Over-reliance on

cameras

Trail cameras are a great tool. They let you extend your scouting without the fear of disturbing deer too close to the season. Plus, it is a lot of fun to open your app and see what is running around the area, especially when a big buck pops into view. But, they are only one tool, and relying on trail cameras alone is like building a house with nothing but a hammer.

Just because you have a big buck appear on camera does not mean it will repeat that process during your hunt. You need to take into account the time of day (or night), weather conditions, wind direction, nearby pressure, and during what part of the season the buck appeared. A buck season during the early archery season is unlikely to follow that same pattern during the rut or come opening day.

If last season did not work out the way you had hoped, it may be time to take inventory of your own actions before blaming things not being the way they used to be.